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The Mangrove Ecosystem ofDeep Bay and the Mai Po Marshes, Hong Kong (ed. S.Y. Lee). Proceedings of the International Workshop on the Mangrove Ecosystem of Deep Bay and the Mai Po Marshes, Hong Kong, 3-20 September 1993. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1999. PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS OF ANTS IN HONG KONG MANGROVES John R. Fellowes Department of Ecology & Biodiversity, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong Ant communities (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Oriental region are little studied. There is a similar dearth of published material on ants associated with mangroves worldwide. This paper results from a brief survey of ants living in mangroves at Mai Po Marshes Nature Reserve, North-west New Territories in September 1993 and at Three Fathoms Cove, Sai Kung in October 1993 and October 1994. Taxa reported in this note were identified by experts of the respective groups, and are marked in the following manner in the species list below: * S.O. Shattuck at CSIRO in Canberra; #M. Terayama at the University of Tokyo; K RJ. Kohout at Queensland Museum, Brisbane;w P.S. Ward at the University of California, Davis. The remaining identifications were made by the author. Species numbers refer to the author's collection, currently held at Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden, Hong Kong. The mangroves at Mai Po Marshes are distributed in the gei wai (tidal shrimp pond) areas and the Frontier Closed Area (FCA) of the Hong Kong - China border. Both were surveyed, as was the low Kandelia candel stand at Three Fathoms Cove. The following ant species were found. Subfamily Dolichoderinae * Dolichoderus sp. 3 (species near thoracicus): On mangrove litter near gei wai, and in FCA tending scales on Aegiceras. Nest in rolled up leaf of Aegiceras; more than one nest per plant. * Iridomyrmex sp. 1 (anceps species group): Near gei wai on ground. * Ochetellus sp. 1: Found near gei wai and in FCA, and at Three Fathoms Cove; on Kandelia candel and litter and on Avicennia marina. Nests found in hollow 10 mm diameter Kandelia twigs, under dead bark on trunks, and in dead branch bases of pruned Macaranga tanarius. * Tapinoma sp. 1: Near gei wai. 131 132 JOHN R. FELLOWES Subfamily Formicinae Camponotus (cf. tokioensis Ito) sp. 21: On Kandelia and Aegiceras in FCA; on mangrove and litter near gei wai. Camponotus nicobarensis Mayr: In mangrove litter near gei wai, and inside FCA. Camponotus nipponicus Wheeler: Nest in 4-6 mm diameter twigs of Kandelia at Three Fathoms Cove; on Macaranga near gei wai. # Paratrechina longicornis Latreille: On Kandelia candel and on ground, near gei wai. K Polyrhachis (Myrmhopla) dives F. Smith: Near gei wai. Subfamily Myrmicinae Crematogaster sp. 3: On mangrove litter near gei wai. Nests in dead twig and hollow stem of Kandelia. # Monomorium chinense Santschi: Along FCA fence and near gei wai. Pheidologeton diversus (Jerdon): Near gei wai. Pheidole (cf. mus Forel) sp. 7: Near gei wai. Pheidole (cf. nodus F. Smith) sp. 1: Near gei wai. Tetramorium kraepelini Forel.ยท Near gei wai. Subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae W Tetraponera nitida F. Smith: Nests in 3-4 mm diameter Kandelia twigs at Three Fathoms Cove. Most of the above species are likely to be only casually associated with mangroves; Iridomyrmex, Tapinoma, Pheidole, Monomorium, Pheidologeton, Paratrechina and Tetramorium are primarily ground nesters, which would not survive regular inundation, while Polyrhachis dives, a common and conspicuous above-ground nesting species in reeds and shrubs on the reserve, was not found in the main body of mangroves; it appears intolerant of shading in Hong Kong (personal observation). Successful mangrove ants require a tree-nesting habit, and a foraging mode that is principally arboreal; either on animal matter, on the secretions of homopteran insects, or on fungi, or else a combination of these. Ants are reported as being rare or absent on the mud surface in the Mai Po FCA (Carmen Anderson, pers. comm.). One tree-nesting genus not found in this survey is Oecophylla, which has a localised distribution in Hong Kong. MacNae (1968) reported Oecophylla smaragdina Fabricius occurring in Malaysian mangroves where they were thought to benefit from the absence of more pugnacious ant species. MacNae (pp. 182-184) found them most commonly on specimens of Ceriops, Bruguiera, Sonneratia caseolaris and Xylocarpus, where they were associated with coccids and other bugs. Commensallycaenid caterpillars have also been found in the nests of Oecophylla living in Sonneratia trees, whose leaves possess low toxicity (Richard Corlett, pers. comm.). Oecophylla smaragdina has also been on Ceriops in Hainan, South China (Carmen Anderson...

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